Anna Ford
Encyclopedia
Anna Ford is a retired English journalist
and television presenter, best known as a newsreader
.
During her career, she initially worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television
, the BBC
, became the first female newsreader on ITN
, and helped launch the first British Breakfast television programme TV-am
. She retired from broadcast news presenting in April 2006, and is now a non-executive director for Sainsbury's
.
actors, with her father having declined an offer from Samuel Goldwyn
to work in Hollywood. He was later ordained as an Anglican priest
, becoming the Reverend John Ford, and took Anna and her four brothers to live at Eskdale
in the Lake District
. She went to primary school at St. Ursula's School, Wigton
, then to Wigton Grammar School
. Her father became the parish priest at St Martin's church in Brampton
, so she went to the White House Grammar School
, becoming head girl.
Ford received a BA
degree in economics
from the Victoria University of Manchester
and was president of the university's students' union
from 1966 to 1967. She also received a postgraduate diploma
in adult education whilst at Manchester.
s at Long Kesh for two years. In 1970-2, she was a lecturer in Christie's
Fine Art department in Ballyclare
, after which she was an Open University
social studies tutor in Belfast for two years. She worked under her married name (at the time) of Bittles. She was thirty by the time she joined Granada Television
as a researcher in 1974, being told she was too old to be a newsreader. She joined the BBC in 1976, and worked on Tomorrow's World
in 1977.
In 1978, she moved to ITN
, becoming their second female newscaster. Fellow newscaster Reginald Bosanquet
was inspired to write poetry for her: "I prayed, I vowed, that I'd be good; and many people thought I would; but then I got my just reward; 18 nights with Anna Ford."
Ford left ITN to launch TV-am
in 1981, with its original high-brow "mission to explain". But with fierce competition from the BBC's casually styled Breakfast Time, TV-am was re-launched in a perceived "dumbing-down" of the station, and only three months after the station's launch, Ford was dismissed from the presenting team. Ford was involved in a notable party incident, in which she threw her wine over Jonathan Aitken
to express her outrage over his involvement in her sacking from the channel.
She rejoined the BBC in 1986, becoming part of the presentation team for both BBC One's
Six O'Clock News
and the BBC Radio 4
Today
programme in 1989. From 1999, she fronted the re-launched lunchtime One O'Clock News
. In February 2003, Ford experienced one of her more challenging broadcasts when she lost her voice live on-air. She had to resort to drinking water on air and, in the end, it was decided to replace her with the available Sophie Raworth
.
In 1996, Ford was accused of bias when hosting a discussion on treatment of men during divorce cases on The Today Programme. The three-minute discussion featured feminist barrister Elizabeth Woodcraft and Neil Lyndon
, a critic of feminism, with Ford allowing Woodcraft to speak for more than two minutes of the three-minute feature. Lyndon received an apology for his treatment on the programme and Ford, herself a feminist, was reprimanded by BBC editor Rod Liddle
.
On 30 October 2005, Ford announced her plans to retire from broadcasting in April 2006 in order to pursue other interests while she "still has the interest and energy". She also talked about ageism
, stating:
On 27 April 2006, she said farewell to the viewers and signed off by introducing a compilation of clips of her career. On 2 May 2006, J Sainsbury plc
, the UK supermarket group, announced Ford was joining the company as a non-executive director. She is the Chair of Sainbury's board's Corporate Responsibility Committee.
She turned down the chance of a part in the film Chariots of Fire
but appeared in the 1982 film Who Dares Wins
. She also appeared on the BBC's Stars Sing the Beatles, with her version of "Here, There and Everywhere
". In December 2005, she was a guest presenter of Have I Got News For You
.
She has stated that her biggest regret is having turned down repeated invitations to appear on the Morecambe and Wise
Show. Having been asked to appear in a song and dance routine on the 1978 Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show, the comedians instead performed the routine with a look-a-like, whose face was never seen on camera.
She did appear in The Secret Policeman's Ball
in 1979, in a sketch with John Cleese
and Terry Jones
of Monty Python
about a game show in which contestants try to guess the identity of a celebrity while being beaten up by them.
She had a hit single in the UK pop charts in 1983, duetting with ex-Slade
singer Noddy Holder
on a cover of the Shakin' Stevens
song "You Drive Me Crazy".
of the Victoria University of Manchester. When the Victoria University of Manchester merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
(UMIST) on 1 October 2004 to create the new University of Manchester
, she became its Co-Chancellor along with Sir Terry Leahy
(the former Chancellor of UMIST). On 22 April 2006, Ford received an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews
, nominated by Sir Menzies Campbell
. Her work was praised by the Dean of Arts for both her broadcasting
and academic
career. She is also an honorary fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.
. She married the magazine editor and cartoonist Mark Boxer
, with whom she had two daughters, Claire and Kate, before he died of a brain tumour in 1988 at their home in Brentford
, Greater London
.
She was briefly engaged in 2000, to former astronaut David Scott
. Ford became the subject of news stories in August 2001, when she lost a high profile court case. She claimed unsuccessfully that photographs of her in a bikini with David Scott, by a press photographer in Majorca, with a powerful zoom lens
and published in the British media, constituted an invasion of her privacy.
In a letter to The Guardian
in February 2010, Ford accused Martin Amis
(a friend of her late husband Mark Boxer) of having neglected his duties as godfather to her daughter Claire and also having been disrespectful to Boxer at the time of his death. Amis rejected her allegations in a reply, although accepting that he had been remiss in his duties as godfather.
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and television presenter, best known as a newsreader
News presenter
A news presenter is a person who presents news during a news program in the format of a television show, on the radio or the Internet.News presenters can work in a radio studio, television studio and from remote broadcasts in the field especially weather...
.
During her career, she initially worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, became the first female newsreader on ITN
Independent Television News
ITN is a news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is made up of four key businesses: ITN News, ITN Source, ITN Productions and ITN Consulting. The ITN logotype can be displayed in any of 4 different colours, each of which represents a business unit. This is the...
, and helped launch the first British Breakfast television programme TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
. She retired from broadcast news presenting in April 2006, and is now a non-executive director for Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury
J. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%....
.
Early life
Ford's parents were both West EndWest End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
actors, with her father having declined an offer from Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn
Samuel Goldwyn was an American film producer, and founding contributor executive of several motion picture studios.-Biography:...
to work in Hollywood. He was later ordained as an Anglican priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, becoming the Reverend John Ford, and took Anna and her four brothers to live at Eskdale
Eskdale, Cumbria
Eskdale is a glacial valley and civil parish in the western Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. It forms part of the Borough of Copeland, and has a population of 264....
in the Lake District
Lake District
The Lake District, also commonly known as The Lakes or Lakeland, is a mountainous region in North West England. A popular holiday destination, it is famous not only for its lakes and its mountains but also for its associations with the early 19th century poetry and writings of William Wordsworth...
. She went to primary school at St. Ursula's School, Wigton
Wigton
Wigton is a small market town and civil parish outside the Lake District, in the administrative county of Cumbria in England, and traditionally in Cumberland. It is the bustling and thriving centre of the Solway Plain, situated between the Caldbeck Fells and the Solway coast...
, then to Wigton Grammar School
The Nelson Thomlinson School
The Nelson Thomlinson School is a Comprehensive Secondary School located in the market town of Wigton, Cumbria, England. The school's motto is the Latin phrase Fide et Operis, "By faith and works"...
. Her father became the parish priest at St Martin's church in Brampton
Brampton, Carlisle, Cumbria
Brampton is a small market town and civil parish within the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England about 9 miles east of Carlisle and 2 miles south of Hadrian's Wall. It is situated off the A69 road which bypasses it...
, so she went to the White House Grammar School
William Howard School
The William Howard School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school on Longtown Road in Brampton, Cumbria, England for pupils aged 11–18.-The school today:...
, becoming head girl.
Ford received a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
from the Victoria University of Manchester
Victoria University of Manchester
The Victoria University of Manchester was a university in Manchester, England. On 1 October 2004 it merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology to form a new entity, "The University of Manchester".-1851 - 1951:The University was founded in 1851 as Owens College,...
and was president of the university's students' union
University of Manchester Students' Union
The University of Manchester Students' Union is the representative body of students at the University of Manchester, England, and is the UK's largest students' union...
from 1966 to 1967. She also received a postgraduate diploma
Postgraduate diploma
A postgraduate diploma is a postgraduate qualification awarded typically after a bachelor's degree. It can be contrasted with a graduate diploma...
in adult education whilst at Manchester.
Career
Ford worked as a teacher for four years, including teaching IRA provisionals at the H-BlockMaze (HM Prison)
Her Majesty's Prison Maze was a prison in Northern Ireland that was used to house paramilitary prisoners during the Troubles from mid-1971 to mid-2000....
s at Long Kesh for two years. In 1970-2, she was a lecturer in Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
Fine Art department in Ballyclare
Ballyclare
Ballyclare is a small town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It had a population of 8,770 people in the 2001 Census...
, after which she was an Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
social studies tutor in Belfast for two years. She worked under her married name (at the time) of Bittles. She was thirty by the time she joined Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
as a researcher in 1974, being told she was too old to be a newsreader. She joined the BBC in 1976, and worked on Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World
Tomorrow's World was a long-running BBC television series, showcasing new developments in the world of science and technology. First aired on 7 July 1965 on BBC1, it ran for 38 years until it was cancelled at the beginning of 2003.- Content :...
in 1977.
In 1978, she moved to ITN
Independent Television News
ITN is a news and content provider with headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is made up of four key businesses: ITN News, ITN Source, ITN Productions and ITN Consulting. The ITN logotype can be displayed in any of 4 different colours, each of which represents a business unit. This is the...
, becoming their second female newscaster. Fellow newscaster Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet
Reginald Bosanquet was a British journalist, best known for presenting ITN news in the 1970s.-Early life:He was the son of the cricketer Bernard Bosanquet, inventor of the "googly" and a cousin of the public relations executive Christopher Bosanquet...
was inspired to write poetry for her: "I prayed, I vowed, that I'd be good; and many people thought I would; but then I got my just reward; 18 nights with Anna Ford."
Ford left ITN to launch TV-am
TV-am
TV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of a commercial television franchise at breakfast-time , and broadcast every day of the week for most or all of the period...
in 1981, with its original high-brow "mission to explain". But with fierce competition from the BBC's casually styled Breakfast Time, TV-am was re-launched in a perceived "dumbing-down" of the station, and only three months after the station's launch, Ford was dismissed from the presenting team. Ford was involved in a notable party incident, in which she threw her wine over Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan Aitken
Jonathan William Patrick Aitken is a former Conservative Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom, and British government minister. He was convicted of perjury in 1999 and received an 18-month prison sentence, of which he served seven months...
to express her outrage over his involvement in her sacking from the channel.
She rejoined the BBC in 1986, becoming part of the presentation team for both BBC One's
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
Six O'Clock News
BBC Six O'Clock News
The BBC News at Six is the evening news programme broadcast each night on British television channel BBC One and the BBC News channel at 18:00. For a long period the News at Six was the most watched news programme in the UK but since 2006 it has been over taken by the BBC News at Ten...
and the BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
Today
Today programme
Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks...
programme in 1989. From 1999, she fronted the re-launched lunchtime One O'Clock News
BBC One O'Clock News
The BBC News at One is the afternoon news bulletin from the BBC. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News channel on Monday to Sunday 1:00pm....
. In February 2003, Ford experienced one of her more challenging broadcasts when she lost her voice live on-air. She had to resort to drinking water on air and, in the end, it was decided to replace her with the available Sophie Raworth
Sophie Raworth
Sophie Jane Raworth is an English newsreader and journalist who works for British broadcaster the BBC. She is the main presenter of the BBC News at One, presenting Tuesday to Friday, and regularly appears on the BBC News at Six and occasionally on BBC News at Ten.-Early life:Born in Surrey to a...
.
In 1996, Ford was accused of bias when hosting a discussion on treatment of men during divorce cases on The Today Programme. The three-minute discussion featured feminist barrister Elizabeth Woodcraft and Neil Lyndon
Neil Lyndon
Neil Alexander Lyndon is a British journalist and writer who has written for every "quality" newspaper in Britain. Lyndon's 1992 book, "No More Sex War: The Failures of Feminism" was the world's first radical, egalitarian, and progressive critique of the subject...
, a critic of feminism, with Ford allowing Woodcraft to speak for more than two minutes of the three-minute feature. Lyndon received an apology for his treatment on the programme and Ford, herself a feminist, was reprimanded by BBC editor Rod Liddle
Rod Liddle
Roderick E. L. Liddle is an English print, radio, and television journalist.He is an associate editor of The Spectator, and former editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he is the author of Too Beautiful for You , Love Will Destroy Everything , and co-author of The Best of Liddle Britain...
.
On 30 October 2005, Ford announced her plans to retire from broadcasting in April 2006 in order to pursue other interests while she "still has the interest and energy". She also talked about ageism
Ageism
Ageism, also called age discrimination is stereotyping of and discrimination against individuals or groups because of their age. It is a set of beliefs, attitudes, norms, and values used to justify age based prejudice, discrimination, and subordination...
, stating:
On 27 April 2006, she said farewell to the viewers and signed off by introducing a compilation of clips of her career. On 2 May 2006, J Sainsbury plc
J Sainsbury
J. Sainsbury plc is the parent company of Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, commonly known as Sainsbury's, the third largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom with a share of the UK supermarket sector of 16.5%....
, the UK supermarket group, announced Ford was joining the company as a non-executive director. She is the Chair of Sainbury's board's Corporate Responsibility Committee.
Entertainment
Ford, as a student, toured Manchester's nightclub sets with a guitar for £5 a night. She wished she could still be a nightclub singer, saying: "You only have one life and it isn't a rehearsal. You may as well have fun."She turned down the chance of a part in the film Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire
Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film. It tells the fact-based story of two athletes in the 1924 Olympics: Eric Liddell, a devout Scottish Christian who runs for the glory of God, and Harold Abrahams, an English Jew who runs to overcome prejudice....
but appeared in the 1982 film Who Dares Wins
Who Dares Wins (film)
Who Dares Wins is a 1982 British film starring Lewis Collins, Judy Davis, Richard Widmark and Edward Woodward, directed by Ian Sharp. The title is the motto of the elite Special Air Service ....
. She also appeared on the BBC's Stars Sing the Beatles, with her version of "Here, There and Everywhere
Here, There and Everywhere
"Here, There and Everywhere" is a song written primarily by Paul McCartney , recorded for The Beatles 1966 album Revolver. In his biography Many Years From Now, McCartney said the song is one of his favourites. Beatles' producer George Martin has also mentioned it as one of his favourite McCartney...
". In December 2005, she was a guest presenter of Have I Got News For You
Have I Got News for You
Have I Got News for You is a British television panel show produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC. It is based loosely on the BBC Radio 4 show The News Quiz, and has been broadcast since 1990, currently the BBC's longest-ever running television panel show...
.
She has stated that her biggest regret is having turned down repeated invitations to appear on the Morecambe and Wise
Morecambe and Wise
Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise, usually referred to as Morecambe and Wise, or Eric and Ernie, were a British comic double act, working in variety, radio, film and most successfully in television. Their partnership lasted from 1941 until Morecambe's death in 1984...
Show. Having been asked to appear in a song and dance routine on the 1978 Morecambe & Wise Christmas Show, the comedians instead performed the routine with a look-a-like, whose face was never seen on camera.
She did appear in The Secret Policeman's Ball
The Secret Policeman's Balls
The Secret Policeman's Balls is the collective name informally used to describe the long-running series of benefit shows staged in England to raise funds for the human rights organisation Amnesty International...
in 1979, in a sketch with John Cleese
John Cleese
John Marwood Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, and film producer. He achieved success at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and as a scriptwriter and performer on The Frost Report...
and Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
of Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
about a game show in which contestants try to guess the identity of a celebrity while being beaten up by them.
She had a hit single in the UK pop charts in 1983, duetting with ex-Slade
Slade
Slade are an English rock band from Wolverhampton, who rose to prominence during the glam rock era of the early 1970s. With 17 consecutive Top 20 hits and six number ones, the British Hit Singles & Albums names them as the most successful British group of the 1970s based on sales of singles...
singer Noddy Holder
Noddy Holder
Neville John "Noddy" Holder MBE is an English musician and actor. He was the lead vocalist and guitarist with the rock band Slade....
on a cover of the Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens
Shakin' Stevens, also known as "Shaky" is a platinum selling Welsh rock and roll singer and songwriter who holds the distinction of being the UK's biggest-selling singles artist of the 1980s . His recording and performing career began in the late 1960s, although it was not until 1980 that he saw...
song "You Drive Me Crazy".
Academia
On 17 December 2001, she was installed as ChancellorChancellor (education)
A chancellor or vice-chancellor is the chief executive of a university. Other titles are sometimes used, such as president or rector....
of the Victoria University of Manchester. When the Victoria University of Manchester merged with the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology
UMIST
The University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology was a university based in the centre of the city of Manchester in England. It specialised in technical and scientific subjects and was a major centre for research...
(UMIST) on 1 October 2004 to create the new University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, she became its Co-Chancellor along with Sir Terry Leahy
Terry Leahy
Sir Terry Leahy is a former CEO of Tesco, the largest British supermarket chain.He lives in Cuffley, Hertfordshire, with his wife, Alison and his three children.- Early life :...
(the former Chancellor of UMIST). On 22 April 2006, Ford received an honorary doctorate from the University of St Andrews
University of St Andrews
The University of St Andrews, informally referred to as "St Andrews", is the oldest university in Scotland and the third oldest in the English-speaking world after Oxford and Cambridge. The university is situated in the town of St Andrews, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It was founded between...
, nominated by Sir Menzies Campbell
Menzies Campbell
Sir Walter Menzies "Ming" Campbell, CBE, QC, MP is a British Liberal Democrat politician and advocate, and a retired sprinter. He is the Member of Parliament for North East Fife, and was the Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2 March 2006 until 15 October 2007.Campbell held the British record...
. Her work was praised by the Dean of Arts for both her broadcasting
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
and academic
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
career. She is also an honorary fellow at Lucy Cavendish College, University of Cambridge.
Personal life
Ford had an early marriage to Alan Bittles, although this dissolved before her television career and, in the late 1970s, she was briefly engaged to TV news anchorman Jon SnowJon Snow
Jon Snow is an English journalist and presenter, currently employed by ITN. He is best known for presenting Channel 4 News.He was Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University from 2001 to 2008.-Early life:...
. She married the magazine editor and cartoonist Mark Boxer
Mark Boxer
Charles Mark Edward Boxer was a British magazine editor and social observer, and a political cartoonist and graphic portrait artist working under the pen-name ‘Marc’.-Personal life:...
, with whom she had two daughters, Claire and Kate, before he died of a brain tumour in 1988 at their home in Brentford
Brentford
Brentford is a suburban town in west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It is located at the confluence of the River Thames and the River Brent, west-southwest of Charing Cross. Its former ceremonial county was Middlesex.-Toponymy:...
, Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
.
She was briefly engaged in 2000, to former astronaut David Scott
David Scott
David Randolph Scott is an American engineer, test pilot, retired U.S. Air Force officer, and former NASA astronaut and engineer, who was one of the third group of astronauts selected by NASA in October 1963...
. Ford became the subject of news stories in August 2001, when she lost a high profile court case. She claimed unsuccessfully that photographs of her in a bikini with David Scott, by a press photographer in Majorca, with a powerful zoom lens
Zoom lens
A zoom lens is a mechanical assembly of lens elements for which the focal length can be varied, as opposed to a fixed focal length lens...
and published in the British media, constituted an invasion of her privacy.
In a letter to The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
in February 2010, Ford accused Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
(a friend of her late husband Mark Boxer) of having neglected his duties as godfather to her daughter Claire and also having been disrespectful to Boxer at the time of his death. Amis rejected her allegations in a reply, although accepting that he had been remiss in his duties as godfather.
External links
- Biography from BBC News
- Audio interview on Woman's Hour re her retirement
- BBC Radio 3's "Private Passions" - musical play list
- Daily Telegraph article, 28 April 2006 - "Anna Ford says goodbye Britain as she signs off after 27 years"
- Sun article, 28 April 2006 - "Anna Ford's Last Bulletin"
- Biography at the Museum of Broadcast Communications
- Open University profile